Auto driver beaten to death with bricks

Road rage reared its ugly head again as an autorickshaw driver was battered to death by two men after he bumped into their car in northwest Delhi’s Vijay Vihar early Friday morning. HT reports.

Road rage reared its ugly head again as an autorickshaw driver was battered to death by two men after he bumped into their car in northwest Delhi’s Vijay Vihar early Friday morning.

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Rajesh Bharadwaj, 42, was beaten with bricks by the two heavily-drunk occupants of the Toyota Innova. “The incident was reported from near a petrol pump in Vijay Vihar A block. The accused, identified as Vinod and Rahul — both of whom are in their early 20s and work as drivers — have been arrested,” said DCP (outer) BS Jaiswal.

Vinod was at the wheel of the MUV when he braked suddenly in the middle of the road near Rohini Sector 4 at around 1.30am and started vomiting, the police said. Bharadwaj, who was right on the Innova’s tail, rammed the vehicle.

A verbal match ensued, giving way to a scuffle that quickly grew violent. “Vinod and Rahul, both drunk, challenged Bharadwaj and blocked his way before confronting him,” said an officer.

“An eyewitness tried to intervene and even gave chase to Vinod and Rahul as they fled, leaving their car behind. He alerted us when he couldn’t catch them,” the officer said.

“Rahul was later arrested from near the Rithala Metro station while Vinod was nabbed from near a relative’s house in Bahadurgarh. They have been booked for murder.”

Bharadwaj, the sole earning member of a family of five that includes two daughters and a son, was working overtime to earn some extra money.

According to the police, Vinod had borrowed the MUV from his employer on the pretext of taking his son out on his birthday.